An Interview with Ten Tonnes

Ahead of performing as Stereophonic’s arena tour opening act, Egwyl’s Emma Tattum caught up Ten Tonnes about all things new music, inspirations and the necessities he just simply can’t live without!

Where did the name ‘Ten Tonnes’ come from?

It came from a trip to the pub actually haha, I wanted a name that was a bit more ambiguous and Ten Tonnes seemed to roll off the tongue nicely. I wish I could say it was from my days as a lion tamer or something, but it just came after a few pints of Guinness.

Who is your musical inspiration?

I’ve got loads, I like music from all over the shop, so it’s quite a wide range. I’ve got a playlist on Spotify I update every week with tunes I love called TT weekly which is a pretty good overview of stuff I listen to. The artists who were most formative in my music discovery were The Beatles, The Smiths and Bob Dylan.

Where was the best place you’ve performed at and why?

I loved playing at Reading festival for the first time in 2016, that was a massive day for me. I had a few headline shows in London last year as well which were bonkers, so much fun.

Do you have any advice for anyone just starting out as a singer/band?

I would say play as many gigs as you can and also play any gig you can, however small, they’re all important. And try to write all the time, that’s always been the most helpful for me.

Where can people buy your music?

You can buy it from iTunes or if you’re a fan of vinyl you can get my last EP on beautiful 12” vinyl from my website. You can also stream my music on all the usual places, Spotify/Apple Music etc.

Do you have any social media?

I’m all over social media haha, you can find me on all of them if you type in ten_tonnes

How would you describe your musical style?

Singer/songwriter playing pop tunes mixed with a bit of rock

You’re embarking on a UK Arena Tour supporting Stereophonics from the end of February, how did you find out you was going to be a part of the tour?

I found out about it around November time, but it didn’t get announced until the other week so it was a long time of being very excited to tell everyone about it. I can’t wait!

How are rehearsals/preparations going?

Yeah, all going great, getting some new songs I’ve written ready for the road as well as beefing up some older tunes too, it’s gonna be great.

QUICKFIRE

What are the five things you can’t live without?

My guitar, peep show, pints, music and water

What is you favourite song to belt out at the bar/in the car/for karaoke?

Ooo that’s a tough one, there’s a lot. Me and my mates are known for doing a word class rendition of ‘parklike’ at karaoke. Also ‘Africa’ by Toto or ‘500 miles’ by The Proclaimers are good too.